Siemens Transporter Charged With Fraud

Courts

Manufacturer Claims It Was Overcharged

A routine contract between Siemens Stromberg-Carlson and a shipping company has erupted into a civil suit in which Siemens accuses the transporter of fraud and conspiracy.

Siemens, based in Boca Raton, alleges that Global Van Lines Inc. had conspired to overcharge it by more than $500,000 since 1989 for shipments of telecommunications equipment, according to the suit filed Nov. 11 in state Circuit Court in Orlando.

The suit lists Action Center Moving and Storage Inc. of Orlando and Action employee James C. Faulkenberry as co-defendants.

Global and Siemens have wrestled over similar charges and accusations in the past, said Cheryl Shelton, general counsel for Global, which is based in Orange, Calif.

''There was another similar matter filed by them in federal court about 1 1/2 months ago,'' Shelton said. ''In that matter, the judge ruled in our favor to dismiss the case.''

Shelton said she has not seen the latest suit by Siemens.

''Of course, we will retain counsel and fight this matter again in court,'' she said.

Janet Courtney, an Orlando lawyer representing Siemens, would not comment on the suit.

In an audit of shipments from Aug. 1, 1989, to March 30, 1990, Siemens said it discovered that Action and Global had overcharged it by $520,000 for shipments of telecommunications switching equipment, the suit said.

Siemens manufactures the equipment at a plant in Lake Mary.

The company alleges that the defendants concealed the overcharges by using a number of devices, including billing misrepresentations, duplicate invoices, artifically inflated shipment rates and document alterations.

''Despite timely demand by Stromberg-Carlson to Action and Global for refund of these overcharges, the defendants have failed and refused to make repayment,'' the suit said.

Siemens accuses the defendants of committing civil fraud and conspiracy because they knew about, approved and carried out the overcharging, the suit said.

Action, Global and Faulkenberry began the alleged conspiracy as early as the spring of 1988, the suit said.

Action and Global breached their contract with Siemens by failing to deliver goods by the requested delivery date, failing to provide the standard of service agreed to in the deals and calculating fictitious shipment charges, the suit said.

Siemens seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

''The total amount of damages sought by Stromberg-Carlson is presently unknown, although Stromberg-Carlson believes it made overpayments to Action and Global in excess of $343,100 and $176,900, respectively, during the eight-month audit period,'' the suit said.

- DEFAULT. Chemical Bank of New York has targeted Charles J. Givens and two associates in a foreclosure suit involving a building owned by the group in the Maitland Center Office Park.

Givens, Charles C. Smith Jr. and Jack W. Dicks, all principals in Maitland Commons Partners, defaulted on payment of a note and mortgage totaling almost $1 million, the suit said.

The loan, originally obtained from now-defunct The First F.A., was acquired by Chemical Bank from federal regulators after The First became insolvent, said Robert D. Gatton, an Orlando lawyer for Chemical.

Since May, Givens and the other partners have failed and refused to make payments on the balance of the loan, which now totals $948,481 including interest, the suit said.

Givens is the only remaining general partner in the Maitland Commons property, which comprises about 600 business condominium units, the suit said.

Orlando lawyer Mark Blake, who represents Givens in property matters, could not be reached for comment. Another Givens attorney, Karen Newbold, said she had not seen the suit and would not comment on it.

Chemical wants to sell the property to satisfy the promissory note, the suit said. If such a sale does not produce enough money, the bank would ask for a deficiency judgment against Givens and the partners, the suit said.